Deep down, Leafs coach Randy Carlyle had to know that a perfect record wasn’t going to last much longer with such imperfect play.

Not to mention being forced to ice an imperfect lineup this early in the NHL season.

Dressing a group that had little resemblance to the one he drew up in the summer, Carlyle and the Leafs couldn’t get away with it for another night as Colorado Avalanche coach Patrick Roy got his first NHL victory in Canada, a 2-1 win.

With Tuesday’s loss in front of a sleepy sellout crowd at the Air Canada Centre, the Leafs are still a credible 3-1, but also still attempting to find their way defensively as they next head to Nashville for a Thursday meeting with the Predators.

“We gave up too many scoring chances in the good areas,” Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf said.

“When you do that, your odds of winning go down.”

When you give up 15 shots in a period — as the gung-ho young Avalanche managed to lay on the Leafs on Tuesday — your chances of winning are diminished as well.

Even another strong outing from goaltender Jonathan Bernier wouldn’t be enough, though the two pucks that got by him were a bullet to a tiny open space and a game winner that went off Colorado forward P.A. Parenteau’s skate.

The first — by career grinder Corey Sarich — came on a bad-angle shot that squeezed into a tiny corner of the net above his left shoulder.

Over all, the Leafs had their chances to swipe yet another win, but couldn’t get a bounce to go their way or connect on a third-period power play in which they had control of the puck for a good minute in the Colorado zone.

Nobody’s panicking yet, of course.

But just as clearly there is plenty of work still to be done.

“It’s still a work in progress,” said forward Joffrey Lupul, who got the Leafs’ lone goal after repeated jamming at the arm of Colorado goaltender Semyon Varlamov was rewarded when the puck squirted free and across the line.

“They got to us in the second period. When a team gets almost 20 shots, obviously, we’re not doing something quite right there.”

The biggest work in progress so far for Carlyle has been to find a way to tighten things up defensively.

He harps at it in practice, reinforces his points in the game-day skate and, during TV time-outs, the coach has been feverishly working his oversized whiteboard.

Part of the issue is the ragged play expected early in the season and part of it is persistent giveaways (the Leafs were charged with 16 on Tuesday to only nine by the Avalanche.)

“We didn’t seem to be able to handle it, especially in the second period,” Carlyle said.

“Any time we got the puck through the netural ice, we were either two-on-three or two-on -our or three-on -our and we weren’t able to sustain any pressure.

“I think that was a lot of the way the game went against us.”

The Avalanche, which outshot the Leafs 33-28, took just enough advantage to sneak away with another win for enthusiastic coach Roy and a 3-0 record overall.

“We were better (defensively) than that game against Ottawa (on Saturday), but still not good enough,” Leafs defenceman Cody Franson said.

The Leafs obviously could have used some offence on this night as well, but the patchwork forward group necessitated by absentees Jay McClement (whose wife gave birth to a baby boy on Tuesday), Nikolai Kulemin (ankle injury) and David Clarkson (suspension) made for a challenge.

Nazem Kadri, for example, spent most of the night grinding on a fourth line with Carter Ashton and Colton Orr.

Phil Kessel led all shooters with a hefty seven shots on net, though none were terribly threatening.

His linemate Tyler Bozak just missed batting home a loose puck in the final two minutes and, in the end, the Avalanche were rewarded with a textbook road win.

“We’re 3-1, we’re not too upset,” Bozak said.

“It’s a good start to the season. I don’t think many would have called us having that record to start the year.”

CARLYLE WON’T PLAY INJURY CARD

Putting together a Leafs lineup these nights is a moving target for Randy Carlyle.

Could the Leafs coach benefit from David Clarkson or his underrated ace checking centre Jay McClement in Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche? You bet he could, but he’s not going to use the growing absentee list as a crutch.

“We’re no different than anybody else from the standpoint we are going to get our fair share of injuries,” said Carlyle, who was without another regular when Jay McClement accompanied his wife for the birth of their baby boy. “And we’ve already had some adverse situations with the suspension (to Clarkson).

“To me, they can be built-in excuses and we’re not going there with this hockey club. We’re no different than anybody else.”

The absences have created opportunities for others, including forward Carter Ashton, who got his first career point, an assist on the lone Leafs goal. Rookie defenceman Morgan Rielly has now played two games and Marlies captain Trevor Smith drew in the lineup for his first game.

“There’s always going to be people in and out of the lineup,” Leafs forward Joffrey Lupul said. “That’s the way it goes. Some of these things this early in the season you don’t expect, but it’s a chance for other guys to step up.”

Maple Leafs lose first game of season to Avalanche 2-1

Deep down, Leafs coach Randy Carlyle had to know that a perfect record wasn’t going to last much longer with such imperfect play.

Not to mention an imperfect lineup.

Icing a group that had little resemblance to the one he drew up in the summer, Carlyle and the Leafs couldn’t get away with it for another night as Colorado Avalanche coach Patrick Roy got his first NHL victory in Canada, a 2-1 win.

With Tuesday’s loss in front of a sleepy sellout crowd at the Air Canada Centre, the Leafs are still a credible 3-1, but also still attempting to find their way defensively as they next head to Nashville for a Thursday meeting with the Predators.

Carlyle knows it, too, as he has been working hard to tighten up the loose play that has been evident for wide periods in each game thus far. It has been the emphasis on practice days, in the morning skate and on TV timeouts where the coach has feverishly been working his oversized whiteboard.